All the President's Men
by Kspence92
Summary: Terrorism, war, recession... President Jim Stephens thought he had dealt with some tough things, but now the the dead are walking and the living are dying. Can the Federal Government survive ?
1. Early days

**Since I've started watching "The Walking Dead" I have always wished the show explored the initial days of the outbreak more. The flashback scenes of Shane trying rescue Rick from the chaotic hospital and the Air Force bombing Atlanta fascinated me, and got me thinking : What did the US government do in those early days ? What happened to the Army ? Or to FEMA ? Where did the President go ? **

**I hope to be able to continue this in the little free time I have. I'll see how it goes :) **

He may have been the most powerful man in the world, but that wasn't enough to stop his hair, what was left of it, turning grey as President James "Jim" Stephens term entered its third year.

"This job's gonna' be the death of me, you know that Chris?" Jim said to his Communications Director.

"Don't let the stress get to you Mr President. " Chris advised his boss "And for the love of God don't let the press see that you're stressed."

"They'll be able to see that with one look at my hair, Chris." Jim said light heartedly "I didn't have a single grey hair three years ago. Okay I tell a lie, I had a few grey hairs…and a few less wrinkles. Anyway, let's get onto business. These numbers are…well, they're shit, to put it bluntly. We had forecast a job growth of 230,000 for August and we have only 190,000!"

"It's not great Mr President but it's all there in the briefing folder, economic stimulus, creating new jobs, and new opportunities etcetera, etcetera. Basically just give them positive stuff, should keep them happy." Chris said.

"Alright, well, looks like its time." Jim said glancing at his watch. The Press hated being kept waiting but over the years the Washington press corps had become somewhat accustomed to the President being "fashionably late"

Jim straightened up his tie, took a deep breath, and opened the door to the press room.

"Ladies and gentlemen: The President of the United States." A spokesman said, handing the podium to the President.

"Good morning, or good afternoon now I guess," Jim started with a smile, referring to his lack of punctuality. His humour had helped in the election. He was a genuinely likeable guy and had appealed to people on both sides of the political divide for his down to earth personality.

As the President prepared to continue his speech, there was a sudden flurry of incoming text messages and phone calls from the press corps in front of him. He was quite taken aback; they were not usually that ignorant. Before he could call them out on it, a figure stepped onto the podium and whispered in the President's ear "Sir, you have to cut it short. We have a…situation." The White House Chief of Staff, Robert Donaldson said, looking somewhat distressed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, if you will excuse me, we will have to cut it short there for a while. The Press Secretary will be contact with you shortly." And with that Jim left the press room and entered the Oval Office where the Chief of Staff awaited anxiously, along with the National Security Adviser, Sarah Taylor.

"How bad?" were the Presidents first words. He was no rookie. No President gets called away from a press conference unless it was urgent.

"Bad." The Chief of Staff said "Details just coming in now. In addition to the incidents in Boston and Pittsburgh that Sarah briefed you on earlier, we now have major incidents in New York City, mainly isolated in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, plus unconfirmed reports of events in Cleveland, Philadelphia, Chicago and…"

"Enough with the 'incidents' and 'events', just tell me what the hell it is!" Jim demanded. Outbursts were few and far between from this President, but it had been a stressful week.

"We don't know exactly, but the murder rate has suddenly skyrocketed in the North East in the past 72 hours…" Sarah, the National Security Adviser spoke up.

"I know that, just get to the point" Jim said, rubbing his head. He needed a vacation. A long one.

"The point is, this looked to be more than a spate of riots or civil unrest. Some of our people from Homeland Security and the CDC have begun to investigate the situation. They're concerned it may be viral. I spoke with the Director of the CDC a few moments ago on the phone and she assures me they are running tests now to determine what it is. Whatever it is though, its spreading Mr President. Eleven people have been murdered in Manhattan in the last fifteen minutes according to the NYPD. They informed us that victims were partially…eaten." Sarah replied, running two hands through her beautiful blonde hair. She had not developed any grey yet, unlike her boss.

"Eaten? You mean cannibalism?" Jim replied in disbelief.

"I'm afraid so Mr President," Sarah replied "I saw the photos myself. NYPD emailed them to me. It was like something from a horror movie."

"And CDC thinks it's what….an infection? A disease?" the President asked as he sat down behind his desk. His head was thumping.

"Nothing confirmed yet, but they should have results from the tests run on corpses in the next few hours. Obviously we cannot have this sort of information getting out before we really know what Is going on. God only knows the sort of panic that would cause. A virus that causes people to go berserk and eat people!" the White House Chief of Staff spoke up. He was new on the job, having only taken over from the titles previous holder a month before, but he had fit in well and knew his job.

"Good call Rob" the President said, rubbing his chin. The stubble was already starting to stubbornly fight back. "Make sure our people know not to leak this information out. I want a total media blackout on these virus rumours until we understand what we are dealing with here."

"They may be more than rumours, sir." Rob replied.

"I understand that, but regardless, we keep this quiet for as long as we can. And pray to God to these are just rumours. I can't imagine what carnage a plague that turns people into cannibals would do to the world." Jim said. "I want you to get in contact with the Governors of all affected states and let them know that they will have the full support of the Federal Government in containing this situation. Let them know they need to put their biohazard contingencies into standby mode right away, but insist they do not release any news about a virus until I give the go ahead. I want to wait on the CDC's tests coming back first."

"Right away, Mr President." Rob said dutifully as he went to man the phones.

"Just another day at the office." Jim mumbled, shaking his head.

"What was that sir?" Sarah asked.

"Huh? Oh nothing, Sarah. Just thinking out loud, would you be able to have one of the girls fetch me a cup of coffee. I feel like I'm going to fall asleep right in this chair." Jim said forcing a smile.

"Sure thing, Mr President."

Before the day was out, the President would go through a hell of a lot of coffee.

When the tests from the CDC came back a few hours later, the President wished for something much stronger than coffee.


	2. Warning Signs

_6 hours later_

"The Director of FEMA has been on the line. They are going on standby as of this moment. Let's hope they're not needed." Rob said, refraining from his urge to bite his nails "If we can roll this thing back and contain it, we won't need to use FEMA."

Jim, leaning back in his chair in the Oval Office could only sigh. His mind was not on FEMA. His mind was on the CDC and what he had been told only two hours earlier. The dead were walking. First reports started filtering through of strange incidents at hospitals and morgues. Nobody in the White House had paid much attention at first, but then the reports starting to flood in. The Centres for Disease Control had dispatched teams to New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Chicago where the "riots" were starting to escalate in an effort to find out just what on earth was wrong with these people. Then the tests came back. It was some kind of new, unidentified virus. It killed it victims, then brought them back to "life" with a taste for human flesh.

"If it gets to the stage where FEMA has to get involved, then it will already be too late to control." Jim replied.

"We can still contain this thing. I've spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs half an hour ago on the phone. All five branches of the Armed Forces are ready to spring into action on your order. So far National Guard units in the affected states have been placed on standby, and Governor McAndrew has informed me that 800 members of the New York National Guard will deploy in Manhattan tonight to support the NYPD. He will announce a state of emergency at a press conference in under an hour." Rob informed his boss.

"How bad is Manhattan?" Jim asked, knowing he would not like the answer.

"Well Mayor Stevens is panicking, it was him who asked the Governor, or really begged the Governor to deploy the National Guard. At least sixty four people have been killed outright by infected people in past five hours. The rate of infection is increasing exponentially. Over 800 suspected cases of the new virus in Manhattan alone. Health authorities have attempted to quarantine all those infected, but its proving troublesome. On top of that, we are now seeing outbreaks in isolated, rural areas across the North East. So far New York and Boston are seeing the majority of cases, but Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are catching up. The outbreak in Chicago is the furthest west so far, and that too is growing worse. So far the public have remained calm, but once the realise these are not just riots then…" Rob was cut off as the National Security Adviser practically barged into the Oval Office.

"Sorry to burst your bubble Rob but they won't stay calm much longer." She said not looking at the President or his Chief of Staff, instead marching over and turning on the TV.

The Presidents jaw dropped open.

"Oh God."

The screen was showing live feed from a CNN camera in New York's 5th Avenue. A clearly spooked looking female reporter was speaking frantically as she looked into the camera, occasionally taking a look behind her. The road was bumper to bumper with cars honking their horns whilst pedestrians ran in every which direction screaming and shouting. Two police officers could be seen on screen firing on a crowd of people surging towards their barricade. Their bullets were having little impact on the assailants, though the occasional lucky headshots took them down. In the sky above a police helicopter was hovering, advising people to get off the streets.

"_We've just received word a State of Emergency is to be declared shortly and that the National Guard is on its way into the city to restore order. The sudden spree of murder and cannibalism has bewildered and overwhelmed the police department and hospitals across the city. What is perhaps more baffling is the fact that some of the people who have been attacked are suddenly getting back to their feet, and attacking others. One witness described a paramedic being attacked and badly injured by a patient he was attending to, then suddenly getting back up and attacking an innocent bystander."_

Off screen something explored. The camera panned around to show a van and a truck burning out of control, presumably due to a crash. Two people staggered out of the burning van covered in flames and fighting with each other. One eventually went down as the other looked to be eating his face.

"Close the bridges." Jim said.

"What ?" Rob replied, still glued to the TV.

"The bridges, the tunnels, the airports. Seal off that damn island! Only military traffic is to be allowed in." Jim ordered. "It may not stop the spread of the virus, but it should at least slow it down and buy us sometime."

Already the media was picking up on the fact that the crisis was biological in nature. The CNN news ticker read "BREAKING: Source at CDC : Reports indicate virus behind recent violence in North East"

"We need to go public. People are already leaking information. We can't be seen as being behind on this." Rob said still staring at the chaos on the TV.

"I know you're right, but…the panic will be unreal. Looting, protests, you name it !" the President said. His heart was racing. Only the highest levels of the US government and elements of the World Health Organisation knew the real risk that faced the human race. The weight of the world was on his shoulders

"They're going to panic anyway, especially after this" Rob said gesturing to the carnage engulfing New York on TV. "We have to get ahead on this thing. The public need up to date information on how to keep themselves and their families safe. If we are honest with people, they will trust us, therefor cooperating with us more."

"Alright, you've convinced me. Get a hold of the press and let them know I will hold a press conference on the situation. Contact the CDC and let them know we are going to go public." Jim said standing up to stretch his legs. "And gather the Cabinet, after press conference we need a meeting of the National Security Council to figure out what we're gonna' do about this mess."

"Yes sir." The Chief of Staff said. "I'll organise everyone from the National Security Council to meet in the Situation Room as soon as the press conference is done."

On the TV, New York still burned as the first trucks of the National Guard crossed the Brooklyn Bridge.


	3. Jenner's Briefing

"For those of you just joining us here at CNN, we have some extraordinary live footage coming to you straight from the Brooklyn Bridge in New York" the newsreader said with a somewhat trembling voice as the camera zoomed down from the helicopter and focused on a group of military personnel and police officers attempting to hold a blockade to prevent the infection getting across the bridge. A crowd of thousands of angry and scared civilians were desperately trying to get across the bridge but were being turned back by troops and riot police armed with rubber bullets and tear gas. Soon the crowds anger turned into blind panic as dozens of infected started to make their way into the bridge, causing mass panic . Hundreds of uninfected refugees began to surge towards the army and police roadblock choosing tear gas and rubber bullets over being eaten alive. The soldiers and cops were clearly beginning to panic as they began to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers of refugees, followed by the infected. The runner bullets were replaced with live rounds and shoot to kill orders were issued. Hundreds of people, uninfected and infected alike, were cut down on the bridge but it was not enough. Within minutes the barricades had failed and the walking dead we're invading New Jersey as the military was forced into retreat. The newsreader was speechless for a few moments before he regained his composure "well...um...it's obviously a shocking situation developing on the ground. In all my years in this profession I've never seen anything quite like it. It's pandemonium down there."

"Sweet Jesus" the President muttered finally forcing himself to turn away from the TV.

"Well, that's leaves us with no choice Mr President" the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Jones spoke up, still staring at the chaos on the Oval Office TV. "We need to seal off the island, take out the bridges and tunnels".

"What good would that do at this stage, General? They're already across the bridge. Besides half of the North East is now reporting cases not just Manhattan." Jim replied, scarcely believing he was having this conversation.

"I understand that, but it will slow the spread of the virus significantly in New York and New Jersey if we seal off Manhattan today. The Air Force is on standby to bomb the bridges and the Navy already have ships patrolling the Hudson. All the airports in the North East are closed so that will also help delay the spread." The General said as he downed his fourth cup of coffee of the hour. .

"Fine. Do it. I can't believe I'm saying this. Quarantining Manhattan? Is this a dream? More like a god damn nightmare!" Jim reluctantly relented to the Generals request, wishing for all he was worth he had a bottle of Scotch on his desk.

The General saluted and left the room to make the necessary preparations to seal off Manhattan by military force. The President was still lost in his own thoughts when his Chief of Staff called his personal line to inform him that the CDCs top virologist, Dr Edwin Jenner, would be briefing him via video link from Atlanta in the situation room.

Only a select few top officials, including the President, Secretary of Defence, Secretary of Health, Secretary of Homeland Security, the National Security Adviser and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were privy to Jenners video link briefing given the top secret details he was about to inform them of.

"Dr Jenner, I've heard good things about you from the Director. I hope you can bring us back from the brink here" Jim said as the conference started.

"Thank you for you time Mr President, I know you're busy so I'll just get straight to the point on the latest updates. We know for sure that it is some kind of virus, but as of yet we have not been able to identify it. We don't know where it came from, we don't know if its natural or man made. In fact there is a lot we don't actually know. Unfortunately we have not been able to track down the index patient, or "patient zero", if you will, which has had a major negative impact on our attempts to identify the virus. There is not really any good news to be frank, so I'll give it you straight. The virus is spreading much more aggressively than initially thought, especially in urban areas. Take for example New York earlier, we saw at least 300 infected attack a crowd of thousands of uninfected. Let's assume that each of those 300 infected bit as many as 10 other people in the crowd, then we will see an additional 3,000 cases in New York and New Jersey in the next 24 hours or less, them those 3,000 newly infected people go on to bite 10 people each then that's another 300,000 cases in the next 48 hours. Those 300,000 will go on to bite ten people each...well I'm sure you can see where the numbers will start going from that point on. Obviously I'm not saying every infected person will bite ten others. Some may only bite one person, or even none, before getting put down by police, on the other hand one could bite fifteen or twenty or even more. It's impossible to predict the exact rate of multiplication with this virus but what is certain is that we will no doubt see many hundreds of thousands of new cases in the next week. We have a computer model up and running showing up to ten million or more dead or infected within four weeks. Within two months, three at the most, if we have not got this thing under control, over 75% of the American population will be dead." Jenner concluded. You could have heard a pin drop in the situation room at that point.

Jim cleared his throat before he spoke up "This 75% of the population dead that your computer model has come up with, is this some kind of worst case doomsday scenario that is unlikely to actually happen?"

Jenner sighed, he knew the President would not like the answer, but it had to be said "I'm afraid not Mr President, these numbers are actually the best case scenario we can hope for in the event our efforts to create a vaccine fail"

The whole room gasped at that statement.

"Well what the hell is the worst case scenario if that's the best?" The Secretary of Health made her voice heard.

"Extinction, Madam Secretary," Jenner replied stone faced "The worst case scenario is extinction."


	4. Panic in the house

24 hours had passed since Jenner had briefed the President. Of those hours, Jim had only been asleep four of them. The images on the TV were growing worse by the hour. Every network seemed to be endlessly replaying footage of the Brooklyn and George Washington Bridges collapsing into the water as US Air Force jets screamed by. A planned protest outside the White House by people who had relatives trapped in New York has been called off after the Secret Service waved guns in their faces. They were not taking a chance with the Presidents safety.

The President lay alone in his bed. His wife and son had died in a car accident six months into his term. In a way he was glad they were not around to see the chaos parts of the country were descending into. Still, he missed them terribly...

There was no time to dwell on the past though. Robert, the Chief of Staff came in without knocking looking somewhat nervous.

"Mr President, it's Los Angeles." Robert said. Jim wanted badly to turn over and close his eyes and for everything to go away. He couldn't though. His country was counting on him.

"How bad?" Jim asked rubbing his eyes.

"Several cases of what the CDC is calling 'Wildfire' at Ceders-Sinai hospital. A man apparently took a train from Chicago to LA after sustaining a bite wound. Two attending paramedics and one policeman were bitten after he arrived at the station and started becoming aggressive, all of whom have been placed under quarantine. However CCTV also shows he bit a number of people on the platform before he was shot dead. LAPD are actively looking for everyone he came in contact with but some people appear to be trying to hide the fact that they were bitten for fear they will be shot. In addition to LA we are getting reports of cases in Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Denver and Seattle. It's no longer confined to the North East. This will get worse before it gets better." Robert said. "Cathy is doing a press conference in two hours to try and get people to calm down and promise them a vaccine."

Jim started to sit up in his bed feeling agitated.

"You think it's a good idea for the United States Secretary of Health to promise the public a vaccine that the CDC says may not happen for months or years? Or ever?" Jim shook his head. "No wonder people don't trust the government"

"People are freaking out sir. We need to calm them down before a riot starts" Robert said in his defence.

The President waved him away and went to get dressed. There was too much on his mind for him to get anymore sleep.

A little over two hours later Cathy Burke, US Secretary of State for Health, addressed a large crowd of reporters from around the world.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," she began as she fought back a yawn. Very few government officials had had much sleep in the past week. "I have some good news to report. The CDC have been in contact with myself and the President and promised that all of their resources are now going into finding a vaccine for the virus. It may take several weeks, but rest assured..." Her voice trailed off as someone stumbled onto the podium. The Deputy Communications Director for the White House seemed like he had something to add, which was odd, or maybe he had something important to tell the Secretary of Health. At least that was most peoples assumption until he lunged at her and battened his teeth down on her neck. A jet of blood immediately shot out everywhere and her eyes bulged wide with fear. The reporters screamed but the cameras kept rolling. Two gunshots rang out. One hitting the man in the neck, the second in the head, taking him down instantly. Secret Service agents began a thought sweep to make sure no more infected were inside the building.

The President, who was in the Oval Office and not watching the Health Secretary's speech, was more than bewildered when two Secret Service agents barged in and grabbed him by an arm each and almost dragged him down to the White House bunker.

"Asset secured, I repeat, Asset secured" one of the agents said as the approached the bunker.

"What the hell is going on?" Jim demanded as he entered the high tech underground bunker beneath the building.

"Cathy's dead!" Sarah, the National Security Adviser coming through the bunkers blast proof door moments after the President "Frank Mavis somehow caught the bug and killed her".

"I spoke with him an hour ago. He said he was having heart pains and I told him to go see a doctor. But he hadn't been bitten, at least not as far I'm aware" Jim said in bewilderment.

"That may just jibe with something I read in an email from the CDC." Said Sarah "They said they were investigating reports that some people had contracted the virus without being bitten. They had died of natural causes then come back and attacked people. Maybe that's what happened to Frank? A heart attack I'm guessing given what you just told me. Plus he had a history of heart trouble. Jesus does that mean that this thing could also be airborne?"

"There's going to be absolute panic on an unprecedented scale you know." The Chief of Staff, Robert said with his head in his hands at one of the desks. "Millions of people watching just saw a cabinet member murdered live on tv in the White House. If we can't even protect ourselves, people will feel like we can't protect them. This is bad. This is really fucking bad from a PR perspective!"

"Oh God..." Sarah groaned looking at her phone "just got a message here saying the Secret Service had to shoot Cathy after she got back up and tried to bite one of the reporters. She was killed before she could hurt anyone but still...I just can't believe this".

"Turn on the TV" the President said "let's see what the networks are making of this. And Robert sent a message of condolences to Cathie's family. Imagine seeing a loved one killed on live TV. Just horrible."

"Yes Mr President" Robert replied as he turned on the TV and went to make a call to Cathy's family

"...just shocking scenes in the White House a few minutes ago as Secretary of a Health Cathy Burke was murdered live on air by Deputy Communications Director Frank Mavis, who had somehow contracted the new virus that is sweeping the North East. This of course brings up many questions about the security of the White House itself. The Secret Service have assured us that the President is alive and well and that there are no other cases of the virus within the White House. A lockdown has been ordered and nobody is being allowed within a mile of the building until further notice. Unconfirmed reports suggest President Jim Stephens has been moved underground, but..."

"Goddamn the media move fast don't they? How do they know I'm underground already? " Jim said feeling the colour drain from his face. What a horrendous day. The virus that was devastating New York and most of New England and now even parts of the Midwest and California had even struck right at the heart of the Administration itself.


	5. Wildfire

_Five days later_

"My fellow Americans, as you know, disaster has struck our nation. The bodies of those who have passed now walk the land, feeding upon the living. Despite the best efforts of federal, state and local authorities, the virus has continued its deadly spread. In order to combat the spread of this contagion, I am declaring a national state of emergency to be put into effect as of this moment. A dusk till dawn curfew will exist from tonight onwards and all schools, universities, sports venues and other such places of public gatherings will be closed for the duration of the emergency. All off duty and reserve military and law enforcement personnel are hereby ordered to report for duty assignments immediately to help enforce martial law and restore order to this country. The Federal Emergency Management Agency are as of this moment mobilising their full disaster response resources to help those communities most in need and are working together with the armed forces, law enforcement and emergency personnel from state and county authorities as well as charities and NGOs such as the Red Cross and Salvation Army. I would like to urge all members of the public to remain calm, to follow all instructions from authorities and to remain behind locked doors as often as possible. It is vital that contact with infected individuals or groups is avoided at all costs. If you are bitten then immediately call your nearest medical centre and a specially trained team will be dispatched to your home or workplace to assist you. Rest assured your government continues to work around the clock to bring this situation to a speedy conclusion and to restore law and order as soon as is practically possible. Now if you will excuse me there is much work to be done. Thank you."

The President left the White House press room without taking any questions, largely to avoid any awkward or difficult questions the Washington press corps are famed for and also because he was genuinely unbelievably busy.

"Mr President, you're needed in the situation room" Robert said as the president headed back to his office "It's important"

It seemed Dr Jenner had another update from the CDC via video link. Jim only hoped it was good news. Something that was in terribly short supply these days.

"We've made a hugely disturbing discovery here in Atlanta," Jenner told the assembled members of the National Security Council."The virus is not transmitted through bites as we originally believed but rather through the air. It seems that because of the decomposing nature of the infected, any bite wound they do inflict will be heavily infected with all sorts of bacteria, inevitably leading to people who are bitten dying of serious infections, which is why it was generally assumed it was the bites killing people and bringing them back to life. But what we have been seeing is people dying, and then getting back up and attacking others without being bitten prior to death. The only logical conclusion is that it must be airborne. Basically the bites they inflict on people hasten death, but from all accounts it does seem that this contagion is spreading so fast largely due to its airborne nature. It is absolutely vital that lockdowns are placed around morgues and hospitals to prevent further outbreaks, but I must warn you that a huge chunk of the population has already been potentially exposed to this airborne strain and once they die...well they too will turn. Heart attacks, gunshots, car crashes, it doesn't matter how they die, as long as the brain remains intact they will turn. We also now have confirmed cases of Wildfire Virus in the United Kingdom, France, China, Brazil, Egypt, Russia and Indonesia. There are suspected cases of the virus also cropping up in Vietnam, Pakistan, Liberia and Sudan. I've spoken with the head of the World Health Organisation and she has informed me they are upgrading their pandemic alert phase to 5. One below an actual pandemic. They expect to declare a phase 6 pandemic level outbreak by the end of the week I'm afraid. At this stage things are going to get much worse before getting better, if they ever do."

At that point everyone in the room stared at the screen in utter horror. It meant that containment was all but impossible. Hope was fast evaporating.

"Dr Jenner thank you for your time. If you will excuse us we have much to discuss" the National Security Adviser said barely able to hide the horror in her voice. Sarah then turned to the President "Mr President, I've just received word that the evacuation of Baltimore had to be suspended due to a unacceptably high casualty rate amongst military personnel overseeing the operation. We have lost contact with General Creighton who was in command in the city. Surveillance from overhead drones confirms the city has been largely overrun but what worries me most is that the infected from Baltimore are making their way down the stalled traffic lanes towards DC, killing people as they go. We may be looking at tens of thousands of infected advancing in this direction. At this rate the infection will be in the city by tomorrow morning at the latest. We have already seen some isolated cases in the northern suburbs. We need to think about moving you outside Washington."

"Sarah, I am not abandoning our nations capital. Could you imagine the panic that would cause?" Jim retorted angrily. He could not imagine ever doing such a thing. It was unthinkable.

"Could you imagine the panic if the President of the United States was torn to pieces with walking corpses ? We will relocate to the Mount Weather bunker in Virginia and continue governance from there. I've already spoken with commanders on the ground from the army and national guard and they feel their situation is untenable. They will not be able to prevent the enemy entering DC."

The President slumped in his chair. "This has to be a dream. This cannot be real. It can't be real"

"Sir, it's time to go." Sarah said placing a hand on his shoulder. Jim looked around the table and saw the faces of the most important Cabinet secretaries and military officers in the country looking back and nodding. The writing was on the wall. It was time to go. But that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Very well. I am activating the Continuity of Government Operations plans. We will move to Mount Weather and disperse a small portion of the Cabinet to Cheyenne Mountain. It's not worth risking putting all our eggs in one basket." Jim said with a tone of authority.

Under this plan, the Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Labour, Secretary of Energy and the Deputy National Security Adviser and Deputy White House Chief of Staff were to be flown by helicopter to Andrews AirForce base and take a plane from there to the Cheyenne Mountain bunker in Colorado whilst the rest of the Executive branch of government relocated to the Mount Weather command centre in Virginia.


	6. Olympus Falls

_7 days into the outbreak..._

"Ok, I'll see you there, keep up the good work Simon" Jim said as he hung up the phone. The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had just informed the President that Mount Weather was ready to receive the President and a portion of his staff. The other half of the Presidents staff were en route to Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado aboard a helicopter. The Vice President and several Cabinet members were to hold out in Colorado and act as a secondary government in the event that something happened to the President and the other half of the Cabinet. As things turned out, not all would go smoothly.

"Mr President !" Sarah exclaimed breathlessly as she entered the Oval Office. "We've just got confirmation that the Vice Presidents chopper went down outside Lexington. They struck a light aircraft that was attempting to flee Lexington Airport. Both aircraft were destroyed in the collision and the local fire department has been unresponsive to our requests for information. It looks like Lexington is totally overrun. The Air Force sent a drone over a few moments ago and confirmed the location of the crash site. It's unlikely there are any survivors."

"My God" Jim muttered as an almost overwhelming urge to pull his own hair out came over him. "Most of Congress has scattered and ran for the hills, the Speaker of the House has had a near fatal heart attack and now half of my Cabinet is dead. Our government is basically collapsing. I...I don't know what to do." The President looked like a defeated man, a man who had tried his best and failed. But he still had some fight left "let's get to Mount Weather and turn this clusterfuck around. We're down but we are not out yet!"

"We'll make it through this sir. We have to" the National Security Adviser said trying to reassure her boss. She looked over at the TV that was on. CNN remained on the air, stubbornly refusing to stop broadcasting despite the chaos near their Atlanta headquarters.

"All contact has been lost with New York City, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore. Local affiliates have stopped responding to our calls and attempts to reach the emergency services and local FEMA teams in these cities have also met with failure. In addition, sources now confirm a number of outbreaks in the northern neighbourhoods of Washington DC amid rumours that the Vice President is missing or even dead. We have now received confirmation that Speaker of the House John Simmons is in ICU after suffering a major heart attack. Hospital sources say...hold on I'm just receiving word of some breaking news coming to us here in Atlanta. A source in the Department of Defence who has fled Washington with his family and asked not to be named has confirmed to CNN that the President has either evacuated from Washington or will be very soon, obviously this confirms our worst fears that the government may be unable to control..."

"God damn it!" Jim yelled at the tv as he grabbed the remote and switched it off "we need to get a handle on these leaks ! Everyday more and more people are losing faith in our ability to control the situation , meaning more looting, more panic , more chaos. Even the martial law declaration hasn't stopped the people ransacking stores."

The National Security Adviser said nothing as she looked out the window. The President followed her gaze. Outside the Presidential helicopter - Marine One - was landing on the lawn.

"Mr President , it's time to go" a Secret Service agent politely informed his boss. For the first time since the War of 1812, an American President was evacuating the White House as Washington fell. Jim had to suppress his emotions as he left the White House for what all he knew could be the very last time. As Marine One flew the President and his top advisers over Washington, muzzle flashes and fires could be seen below as the dead marched into the city, making war on the living. Despite the best combined efforts of the DC Police, the DC National Guard and the regular US Army, the walking dead were overrunning the demoralised defenders of the American capital. Thousands died as they tried to flee the chaos only to be caught up in traffic jams and torn apart as the dead overwhelmed everything and everyone. Jim couldn't bear to look at the madness below. He hid his tears by pretending to be reading a briefing paper. He needn't have bothered. Everyone else on the helicopter, from the junior Secret Service agent to the Secretary of Defence were emotional wrecks.

"Attention please, we will be arriving at Mount Weather in the next twenty minutes , please keep your seat belts fastened until we land." The pilot said over the intercom. The President barely registered the pilots words. His mind was more focused on tomorrow's headlines, assuming there would be any.

The headlines were easy to predict

WASHINGTON HAS FALLEN


	7. Diplomatic Immunity

"Mr President, word from our embassy in Cairo. The Egyptian military just closed off all entry points to the city. Road, rail and air travel have been suspended and local media report that rioting is spreading across parts of Cairo. It seems that the Egyptian government has forced the media to report any virus related violence in the country as riots in order to avoid a panic. Ambassador Jameson has urged that all consular staff be evacuated at the earliest opportunity due to the situation. They feel their position is becoming untenable and that Egyptian security forces can no longer guarantee the safety of the embassy." A young female aide from the State Department informed the President.

"Very well. Tell the ambassador that helicopters will be dispatched to Cairo to evacuate him and his staff if the situation there deteriorates further. Keep me updated on the situation, the last thing we need is another Benghazi." Jim replied as the pounding in his head grew worse. He looked at the alarm clock next to his bed. 3:39 AM. An ungodly hour be woken up at but he had insisted his staff wake him for any important updates. He missed his old bedroom in the White House, much more spacious and far less basic that the bedroom Mount Weather afforded him.

He rolled over in a vain attempt to get some more rest. He was woken again less than two hours later, this time by his Chief of Staff.

"Sorry Mr President, I know it's early but we have an update on the Cairo situation" Robert said stifling a yawn.

"I guess if it was good news you wouldn't be waking me would you?" Jim replied still half sleeping.

"Cairo has gone to Hell in the past hour to put it bluntly. The Presidential Palace is on fire, State TV has gone off the air and there are reports of people being gunned down trying to flee the city. We can't contact anyone from the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and the only information we are now getting from the country is coming from the internet. Ambassador Jameson has asked that you call him right away" Robert said, his eyes bleary and fighting to stay open.

Jim sat up and grabbed the phone at the side of his bed.

"Mr President!" The voice on the other side of the line sounded panicked but glad to hear the Presidents voice."it's absolute pandemonium in Cairo. The whole city is going up in flames. Those things are surrounding the embassy. Thousands of them...hold on sir...my security chief just told me they're breaking into the compound now. I don't know how long we can hold them off!"

"I'll have helicopters sent to take you and everyone there to safety just hang on !"

"There are over a thousand people here. Most of them are American citizens who were on vacation and came for shelter after everything went to hell. We really need extraction as soon as possible. There's more of them than we originally though, we're gonna be overrun...oh dear god !"

"What's happening ?" Jim demanded. He felt powerless as he listened to the ambassador cry out in fear. Gunshots were ringing out over the phone. Then screaming. So much screaming.

Then silence.

"My god..." Jim said. He almost forgot he was holding the phone. He hung up and went to take a shower. I want a meeting of the National Security Council in one hour. I don't care if they're asleep wake them!" The President called to his chief of staff as he went to get ready.

"This is gonna be a hell of a day" Jim muttered as he looked into the bathroom mirror, and saw an old man staring back. The job was taking its toll on him.


	8. This is not a test

_Meeting of the US National Security Council_

_Mount Weather Emergency Operations and Continuity of Government facility, Virginia, USA_

_8 days after first case of "Wildfire"_

"I spoke with the British Foreign Secretary fifteen minutes ago and he assures me that the Royal Air Force will be air dropping more food and medicine to stranded communities in the north east tomorrow." Sarah, the presidents National Security Adviser said.

"Well at least some of our allies are still standing by us. I doubt we will get much help from the French given the scale of their own outbreak. Paris is expected to fall any day now. Germany, Italy and Spain are also reporting outbreaks though not quite as widespread as what the French are dealing with." The Assistant Secretary of State Kim Lavender spoke up. She had taken over from her predecessor following the Secretary of States death in the previous days plane crash. "We are also begining to see clusters of cases popping up in India. Mumbai and New Delhi thus far are the worse affected. A number of incidents have also been reported in Shanghai and Hong Kong but the Chinese government has covered it up. No mention in local media whatsoever. It also seems that Australia has now been affected. Strange, violent incidents in the vicinity of a hospital in Perth and at least one case of a man apparently returning to life at a Sydney morgue and attacking a coroner. It's global now. We ain't alone in this mess anymore Mr President"

"That does not bring me much comfort Kim," Jim replied moving onto the next person at the table, the Director of FEMA, Simon Hutchison.

"What you got for us Simon?"

"We've pulled up every resource and employee at our disposal and we are throwing everything we have at this mess, but it's still not enough. FEMA's purpose to provide shelter, food and medical care to American citizens in times of disaster, and that's what we will continue to do, but the problem is we don't have the resources or manpower to help everyone who needs help. This isn't a hurricane that may force a few thousand people from their homes for a few weeks, this is a nationwide disaster that has people in need of government help in almost every state in the country. There are millions of people who have been driven from their homes. And it's no longer just the bigger cities that are affected, but what we are seeing is increasing instances of outbreaks affecting smaller communities as well. This means that we are increasingly over stretched spreading our manpower over vast areas to help people, but we can't keep up like this. It's an impossible task."

"If I may," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff spoke up "this is where the military may be of some assistance. As the Director says, it's impractical to spread resources over such a large area, so we in the armed forces feel the best approach is simply to put everyone together. By that I mean begin evacuating people from rural communities into larger towns and cities where FEMA can set up refugee centres and aid stations for displaced people whilst the military can form a cordon around the cities to keep the infected out. It may sound risky placing so many people in one area but it's the only tangible solution to the over stretching of the military and civilian agencies resources. We can't be everywhere at once protecting people but we can get people to come to us instead. We can arrange for transport for people from the countryside into the cities. Places like New York and DC are already gone but in cities with no outbreaks or limited outbreaks such as Atlanta and Miami I believe we can herd people into these areas and keep them safe there."

"I think...I think that may just work."Jim said. "It may be our only option at this stage. Alright, I want to activate the Emergency Alert System. Tell people to make their way to designated safe cities where the army and national guard will protect them."

A few hours later, after some debate over what cities were to be described as "safe cities" or what could even be described as safe cities at this stage, the broadcast went out on every tv and radio in what remained of the United States.

_"The following message is transmitted at the request of the United States government. The Emergency Alert System has been activated. This is not a test. Normal programming will cease immediately. Due to the increasingly widespread nature of the outbreak affecting our country, citizens are ordered to begin a mandatory evacuation to designated safe zones within certain towns or cities. This Is to allow the military and civil authorities to protect you. If you do not follow this advice, your safety cannot be guaranteed. This is a mandatory evacuation order. Head to whichever one of the following cities is nearest to you : Albany, New York, Manchester, Massachusetts, Norfolk, Virginia, Atlanta, Georgia, Miami, Florida, Fort Smith, Arkansas, Austin, Texas, Galveston, Texas, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Denver, Colorado, Omaha, Nebraska, Seattle, Washington, Portland, Oregon, Sacramento, California, Las Vegas, Nevada, Santa Fe, New Mexico. This list is incomplete and more cities may be added over the course of the next few hours or days so stay tuned for further details. Do not take any major luggage, only what you can carry yourself. Items such as medicine, canned food, bottled water and warm clothing should be top priority when evacuating. Please remain calm throughout the evacuation process and follow all instructions issued by authorities. A national state of emergency remains in effect for all states and a dusk till dawn curfew is in place. Anyone caught looting or engaging in any sort of crime will face a military tribunal. Your government thanks you for your cooperation. This message will now repeat."_


	9. Phase 6 : Pandemic

_Three weeks since first case of Wildfire_

"We've managed to secure the evacuation of most key CDC personnel from Atlanta. They will be arriving shortly at our main military biomedical research station at a Fort Detrick, Maryland. Our last operational military installation in the north east. Dr Jenner and his wife have opted to remain in Atlanta and continue their work there as long as they can" Robert said.

"So Atlanta is all but lost." The President sighed. He looked up at a monitor on the wall that showed a map of the world. Much of the east and west coasts of the United States were showing red, meaning overrun with infected. Likewise most of Western Europe, almost all of India and the Chinese coastline were red. Much of Africa was still untouched, though Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone were showing up as red. Millions of refugees fleeing the outbreak in Nigeria had spread the virus into neighbouring countries. An ocean away, Australia had evacuated much of its government and remaining troops to Tasmania as Canberra fell to the undead. The world was falling apart and nobody could stop it. Jim shook his head and downed another glass of Scotch. "What about this emergency session of the United Nations in Switzerland ? Is it still going ahead?"

"Many of the delegates pulled out of the meeting. It's proving almost impossible for anyone to even get a flight to Geneva. Some countries have collapsed altogether. On top of that two Geneva hospitals are reporting outbreaks of WildFire and there are daily riots in the city. By the looks of things this meeting won't be happening." The Chief of Staff said "phone lines in Switzerland have largely been disconnected. We haven't been able to contact the World Health Organisation headquarters there for three days now. Their last update was on Thursday when they declared the outbreak a Phase 6 pandemic."

Jim struggled to believe what was happening. Even after three weeks since the outbreak began, and two weeks since he had fled DC, the idea that all of this could be happening seemed unreal. A bank of a dozen televisions on the wall drew the Presidents attention for a brief moment. Those televisions were the ones that the President and his staff had used to monitor global news networks over the course of the outbreak. Now all they showed was static. One by one the TV networks had gone off the air. CNN was the last of the big US networks to cease broadcasting after walkers overrun their Atlanta headquarters mid broadcast brutally killing the staff live on air. A few independent radio stations still continued to operate, mostly in the Midwest where there were less people and as such the number of walkers was lower.

"Robert are those trains still running out of Alabama?" Jim asked his Chief of Staff. He may have been increasingly powerless but he still cared for those poor souls struggling to survive out there on a daily basis.

"Yes Mr President, for the moment anyway. FEMA has taken over the train companies in most of the states to help evacuate as many people as possible out of the hotzones. The Army is still holding their ground at the Montgomery train lines which are the last operational train lines in the South that are still taking people to the refugee camps in Kansas. How much longer those lines can stay open is anyone's guess." Robert said as he sat down next to his boss and had a glass of scotch himself. They were the only two in the situation room. Everyday there were less and less people in the bunker as people left to find their families. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs had committed suicide the day before after finding out his wife and daughter had died in Denver. FEMA Director Simon Hutchison had formally resigned a week earlier and placed his deputy in charge after leaving to protect his wife and kids. The Secretary of Homeland Security was in the medical wing after suffering a stroke and was not expected to live for long. What handful of government members remained were skeptical of their ability of affect the situation of the ground to any extent anymore.

Because outside the bunker; it was anarchy. From sea to shining sea.


	10. No Hope

"Our embassy in London has stopped responding to our calls. We can't contact our consulate in Edinburgh either. It seems the UK is now more or less in the same situation as we are. Most of London is in flames after jets bombed the city. Rumour on the net has it that the Queen committed suicide after Prince Philip was killed before he could be evacuated from London" the Assistant Secretary of State said tiredly. She had only 12 hours sleep in the past week. She was nearing exhaustion, but soldiered on nonetheless.

"What about the Prime Minister? Any word on his whereabouts?" Jim asked. He never really took to the British Prime Minister given the PM was more right wing whereas the President was towards the left of politics. But still , he did not wish the leader of Americas main ally any harm.

"We don't know. We believe he may be in a bunker somewhere in the Welsh countryside but we haven't been able to get in touch with him or anyone in the British establishment since London was overrun. On top of that all contact has now ceased with French government officials. Paris is gone. Marseilles was the last city holding out but they have been dark for almost three days now and intelligence thinks the city is lost. We have some information from Russia though. Last we heard President Putin had been moved outside of Moscow along with his senior military command. The Russian military is disintegrating however and there is little command and control over whatever remains of Russia's forces." Kim said struggling to keep her eyes open. Even the coffee barely helped anymore.

"Jesus; the whole world is coming crashing down." Jim said staring at the ceiling, as though waiting for a miracle from the god he no longer believed in. "Any luck with contacting the Chinese?"

"China has gone dark. The CIA told me about twenty minutes before I came in here that because the population of China was so large before the outbreak, the number of these so called walkers is ten fold what we are facing here. The last satellite feed from Beijing showed bodies stacked five or six high and rivers of blood running into the gutters. They no longer have a functioning government. The CIA have it on good authority that their senior leadership was killed when walkers stormed the heliport they were waiting at for rescue. It's the same in India. Millions upon millions dead. Complete state collapse. The Japanese won't hold our much longer either. Tokyo is crawling with those things and the Emperor is in hiding along with the Prime Minister."

"It's just...I don't even know what to do anymore. We can't save our allies, or even our own people."Jim took in a deep breath and finished another glass of whiskey. His last comfort.

"We have some good news." Kim said hoping to brighten up the President "The North Koreans have retreated back to their side of the border. They thought the South would be easy prey after we withdrew our troops from South Korea and deployed them here, but instead of the South Korean Army ,the Norths forces ran into hundreds of thousands of walkers. Needless to say the Norths soldiers hightailed it out of there, but not without some of their troops contracting the virus. We believe there are several outbreaks in North Korea now."

"There is no hope," Jim said quietly "that's what you're really telling me isn't it Kim?"

"Mr President..." She struggled to find the words she was looking for "there is always hope. There are still people out there hoping that we will get this under control. We can't let them down."

"Do you know what a $100 dollar bill is worth right now Kim?" The President asked, then answered his own question "it's worth a piece of toilet paper. Because that's all it's good for. The economy has completely collapsed. Our health care system has completely collapsed as most of our hospitals are either overrun or abandoned. Our education system is defunct as most schools have been converted into Red Cross shelters to house the displaced. Our military has all but disintegrated with desertion and casualty rates increasing everyday. Emergency services in most areas have stopped functioning, the tv networks have gone off air, the power grid has failed in most states, our transportation network has evaporated and every store from New York to Seattle has been looted." The President said it all without barely taking a breath. It was a rant plain and simple but he couldn't help it. It had to be said. Kim said nothing. Her boss was right.

There was no hope.


	11. Raising a glass to the past

_1 month since first case of Wildfire_

The President of the United States sat alone in the darkened room where he and his advisers had, for the past four weeks, attempted to hash out plans to restore the country to its pre outbreak status. Now most of those advisers had gone. Either suicide, or attempting to leave to find their families.

With the exception of a skeleton crew of support personnel, only the President, his Chief of Staff and his National Security Adviser remained as the last representatives of the US governments senior leadership holding out in the bunker.

Jim looked sorrowfully at his bottle of Scotch. Only a dribble remained in the last bottle in the bunker. He had gone through half the bottle in the past half hour. It wasn't like his drunkenness would impede his ability to run the country. His country no longer existed.

Robert slipped in the room and sat beside his boss. Their working relationship now resembled a close friendship now. It's not like they had anyone else to talk to.

"The last of the bottle, Rob" the President said to his chief of staff. We'll share the last bit. A glass each" Jim said pouring them both a glass finally emptying the bottle.

"To the future" Robert said, holding up his glass.

"To the past," Jim said "we never knew how good we had it"

"No, I guess we didn't did we Jim? It's hard to believe it's all gone." Rob replied sadly.

"I wouldn't hold it against you if you wanted to be with your family," Jim said savouring his drink as the last it went down his throat "God knows, everyone else has gone."

"My wife and son are in a small town in the Colorado Rockies. I think they're safe. I have to think that way otherwise I'd go crazy. My place is here serving my country."

Before Jim could reply that he no longer had a country to serve, his National Security Adviser, Sarah, entered the room. Her eyes were red and puffy. A combination of tiredness and crying. Her husband had died when Columbus had been overrun and she has heard his last screams over the phone.

"Any news from outside Sarah?" Jim asked as she joined them at the table.

"Not much. Topeka has stopped responding to my calls. Same with Wichita. The FEMA liaison in Montgomery who had been helping run the evacuation trains from Alabama to Kansas called to say he was suspending the evacuations until somebody could let him know if Kansas is still taking in refugees . Judging by the breakdown of communications with FEMA reps in Kansas I'm assuming the state is lost." Sarah replied. "All major cities in the continental United States are now disaster areas."

Any word from overseas?" Jim asked her.

"Again, not much to report. Most of Europe and East Asia have been devastated. What's left of the Chinese military resorted to using nuclear weapons on Beijing and Shanghai for all the good that did. Countries with smaller populations are the best off but even they are suffering outbreaks . Almost every nation on earth is affected to one degree or other. It's all gone Me President. Everything is lost. Most of our population is dead. Our civilisation has entered a new Dark Age. What's the point in going on anymore?"

Jim had no answer for her. There was nothing he could say to comfort her, largely because she was right.

A few hours later , her words still echoed in Jim's head. He was worried about her and what she might do after losing so much. He marched down the hallway to the room she had been allocated to sleep in and knocked heavily three times. No answer. He tried the handle and gently pushed the door open. She was lying on the bed with the covers over her.

"Sarah..." Jim began, then noticed the bedside cabinet where a packet of empty pills and a bottle of wine sat. "Oh god!" He rushed over and checked her pulse. There was none that he could detect. He places his ear to her mouth to listen for any sign of breathing. Again nothing.

Then her eyes opened.

And her mouth opened with them.

And then the President screamed as her teeth clenched upon his flesh.


End file.
